Mac Jones was unofficially seen as a leader of the Patriots ever since he became the team's starting quarterback at the start of the 2021 season. Entering Year 2, Jones received the ultimate label for his leadership.
Jones was one of six players named as a captain for the 2022 season, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday. He joins center David Andrews as the other offensive captain while safety Devin McCourty, defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, and special teamer Matthew Slater were the other players to be named a captain.
“I think it's really cool,” Jones said of the honor on Wednesday. “I have a lot of work to do. I want to become an even better leader. I think we've got a lot of great guys around who make everything better – great coaches and a great organization. We've just got to build and I'm going to learn from the older guys like I did when I first got here and continue to do that. Hopefully, some of the younger guys can come to me with whatever it might be – issues or things that thing want to get fixed or things that they're struggling with. I'll be happy to help anybody on our team.”
Bill Belichick announces this season's team captains pic.twitter.com/ckLPKewlub
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) September 7, 2022
Despite earning the “really cool” honor, Jones recognizes that it means nothing without being an effective leader. He hopes that he can do that while also continuing to grow as a player and a leader in his second NFL season.
“Titles are titles. I think really good leaders lead no matter what,” Jones said. “If they're the No. 1 guy or not, it doesn't matter if they're a good leader. I think it's great but you've just got to be yourself. That's what is important to me: just being myself. I'm plenty good enough and I just need to continue to grow and try to figure out how to get better as player, a leader, and as a person. It comes with time and experience along with learning lessons.”
Mac Jones' first official on-field assignment as one of the Patriots' captains will be to beat the Miami Dolphins in Sunday's regular-season opener. New England actually flew down to South Beach on Tuesday so it could begin practicing and get acclimated to the Miami heat in time for practices this week, which began on Wednesday.
In Jones' rookie season, the Patriots fell to the Dolphins (at home) as they got off to a 2-4 start to the year. Jones knows that getting off to a good start and said what he and his Patriots need to do throughout the opening game to help set a good tone for the rest of the season.
“I think it's important [to get off to a good start],” Mac Jones said. “Sometimes in Game 1, there's a lot of emotion and stuff, so it's hard. You want to focus more on the details of the plays and let the emotions come and go. That's what emotions are, they come and go. The energy and all of that will be there.
“At the end of the day, it's just the start of something. You've got to learn from it and grow regardless of the result. So, we're going to go out there and compete and see how it goes. That's all you can ask for.”
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